Although President Obama has made it clear that he will use his executive powers to fashion some sort of immigration reform should Congress refuse to put a Bill to a vote, the fact is that deportations are at the highest point in years, much higher than before he took office for his first term. Defending one’s self in what is called, Removal Proceedings, can be confusing at best. There are terms that amount to a legal maze complicated by the fact that everything is in English. Immigrants often do not understand that they have some legal rights to relief from removal in the forms of various waivers, adjustment of status, political asylum, cancellation of removal to mention a few. Each of these forms of relief have distinct requirements to qualify to apply and further requirements to prove that the immigrant deserves a favorable act of discretion. Complicating matters more is the various personalities and views of the Immigration Judges that hear cases in removal proceedings.

Last month, lawmakers in New York approved a 4.9 million dollar appropriation to fund a Public Defender system for immigrants facing deportation. Many of these immigrants are poor and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It is called the New York Family Immigrant Project and is a pilot program being run by the Vera Institute of Justice. The immigrants who qualify cannot afford to hire an attorney to represent them and, as a result, they are representing themselves against highly trained government lawyers. These immigrants need attorneys to not only defend against removal but, in cases where removal is certain, to expedite the process to avoid the immigrant being detained for long periods of time.

The Vera Institute hopes to expand the Public Defender program to other cities.